200 trees succumbed to dreaded weevil last year

Almost 200 palm trees had to be uprooted last year after falling victim to the dreaded red palm weevil, and the government has pledged €300,000 to help remove infected trees.

Another 60 trees remained infected and were waiting to be removed, Palm Health Department director Marica Gatt said, adding that last year the department received 500 calls to register suspicious infections.

Amid fears that the palm weevil will spread to tree types - including the local dwarf palm (gummara), which has not yet been affected - the government yesterday issued a legal notice directing all palm tree owners to register their trees.

"We want to have a clear picture of all the palm trees that exist in Malta," Dr Gatt said at a news conference.

Owners have 30 days to register their palm trees or risk incurring fines starting from €233. This follows another legal notice issued last August obliging owners of palm trees that could be infected to report them immediately or face legal action.

Dr Gatt said the government was considering giving aid for the control of infected trees to those who register.

A Rural Affairs Ministry spokesman said the government was allocating €300,000 for this year and would be absorbing the cost of removing infected trees. The cost of uprooting an infected tree can be as low as €25 but could also go into hundreds.

The red palm weevil, a beetle that thrives on palms, was first discovered in Malta in July 2007 in a Wardija garden, but it is not known whether it had been on the island earlier.

The local case came less than a year after the dreaded insect was found in Italy.

The first records of the red palm weevil go back to 1891, when it was seen in India and recognised as a serious pest of the coconut palm in the early 20th century.

In 1917 it was described as a serious pest in the date palm in the Punjab, India. A year later it caused serious damage to the date palm in Iraq. In the mid-1980s it was discovered in the Arabian Gulf countries and has become a most destructive pest of date palms in the Middle East.